BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Orosco Fills Need As Lefty Specialist

By TYLER KEPNER

Published: July 24, 2003

It was two or three years ago when Mel Stottlemyre last saw his old left-handed closer on the Mets, the one who flung his glove in the air, fell on his knees and raised his fists to the sky after the last out of the 1986 World Series.

''Jesse, how much longer are you going to throw?'' Stottlemyre asked pitcher Jesse Orosco.

''I still feel good, I'm still enjoying it, still getting hitters out,'' Orosco replied. ''They're going to have to take the uniform off me.''

Now 46 years old, Orosco keeps getting new uniforms to wear. He arrived at Yankee Stadium in the sixth inning of last night's game with the Baltimore Orioles, joining his ninth major league team. The Yankees acquired Orosco from the San Diego Padres late Tuesday for a player to be named. Orosco will wear No. 47, his number as a Met.

The Padres had informally agreed to give Orosco veto power over trades, but he was eager to join the Yankees. He has not appeared in the World Series since striking out Boston's Marty Barrett to clinch Game 7 in '86.

''It's hard to say no to an opportunity to try to win again,'' Orosco said.

Orosco said he had lost only two to four miles an hour off his fastball since he was a Mets rookie in 1979. He complements his signature slider with a fastball at about 88 miles an hour. ''I don't think that's a big drop-off for 25 years,'' Orosco said. ''I've kept my slider as sharp as possible, and added another pitch to it. In this game, you have to keep adjusting, and I've done that. My job is to get left-handers out, and I concentrate on that.''

Orosco is still in demand. Despite a 7.56 earned run average for the Padres, he held left-handed hitters to a .228 average. The Yankees' left-handed relievers Chris Hammond (.303 against lefties) and Sterling Hitchcock (.283) are not one-batter specialists like Orosco.

''I think we could use him on an everyday basis, basically,'' Manager Joe Torre said. ''For as little as he gives you as far as pitch count, he could probably pitch three or four days in a row.''

Orosco said his teammates had kidded him in recent years for compiling so many games pitched while facing so few batters. Just doing my job, Orosco tells them. ''If I do my job, I'll be called on time after time,'' he said.

The Yankees traded for Orosco after missing their first two targets. The Yankees coveted Scott Sauerbeck, but Pittsburgh traded him to Boston on Tuesday. The Yankees also pursued St. Louis's Steve Kline, but on Tuesday night, the Cardinals rejected the Yankees' offer of Hitchcock.

General Manager Brian Cashman moved on to Orosco, his second bullpen addition in a week. Cashman traded for another former Mets closer, Armando Benitez, last Wednesday. ''Joe has more choices than he's had for quite some time,'' Cashman said.

The Yankees designated outfielder Curtis Pride for assignment to make room for Orosco, but Torre said they would drop a pitcher when first baseman Nick Johnson comes off the disabled list tomorrow or Saturday.

That pitcher is likely to be Hitchcock or the right-hander Dan Miceli. Despite the Cardinals' rejection of the Hitchcock-for-Kline deal, they need a starter and could still be interested in Hitchcock. A Cardinals scout attended last night's Yankee game.

Since early last month, Cashman has added Orosco, Benitez and Miceli to the bullpen, and Ruben Sierra and Karim Garcia to the bench. Cashman said he would continue to monitor the trade market, but is unlikely to pursue specific players.

''We've plugged a number of holes that were obvious, but that doesn't negate the daily challenge of trying to pursue excellence with our club,'' Cashman said. ''That's not going to change. I talk to clubs every day, and you stumble into things that could make you better.''

The biggest challenge for Torre may be appeasing his bench players, who have gotten significant playing time in Johnson's absence. Torre said he had no desire to add to the roster. ''I wouldn't think of any place that we need to do anything about,'' Torre said.